Approval rates
Comparing a judge's lifetime performance to current office and national trends provides context for your upcoming hearing. While the national average approval rate currently sits at 58%, Judge Studzinski's recent reporting period shows a 39% approval rate. These figures are derived from a significant volume of 27,061 lifetime decisions, offering a stable look at historical trends. Aggregate rates describe past decisions, not predictions for individual hearings.
Office- and national-level breakdowns of fully favorable vs denial rates aren't currently published by SSA in the per-office disposition data. The judge's own breakdown is the detail we have today.
Approval rate over time
Year-over-year approval rate across Judge Studzinski's docket. Annual rates fluctuate with the mix of cases SSA assigns; the longer-run pattern is more informative than any single year.
Decision pattern
Over his 10 years on the bench, Judge Studzinski has maintained a consistent decision pattern. His approval rates have fluctuated, starting at 42% in 2016 and reaching 36% in 2025. The latest reporting period shows a variance from his lifetime average of 34%, which is common in administrative law as case mixes evolve. This pattern reflects a stable, long-term approach to evaluating disability claims.
Preparing for an SSDI hearing
The guidance below applies to any SSDI hearing, not specifically to Judge Studzinski's bench. Judge-specific preparation guidance requires a corpus of public Appeals Council decisions involving each judge, which we haven't built yet.
- Bring a clean treating-physician record. Longitudinal primary-care or specialist notes spanning the disability period, with consistent symptom documentation, are typically the strongest evidence at hearing. A single month's records usually aren't enough.
- Don't rely on consultative exams alone. If your medical evidence is built primarily around a one-time CE finding, expect detailed questioning. Supplement with treating-source statements where possible.
- Prepare for daily-activity questions. Have honest, specific answers about a typical day. Answers that conflict with the medical record (in either direction) tend to hurt credibility.
- Expect transferable-skills probing. A vocational expert will usually testify about jobs available to someone with your limitations. Your representative should be prepared to cross-examine.
Hearing with Judge Studzinski? Free, confidential — see if you qualify for SSDI.
Free Benefits ReviewAbout the Oak Brook hearing office
The Oak Brook Hearing Office serves you and other claimants across Illinois and the surrounding region. With a bench of 6 judges, the office manages a high volume of cases to ensure timely access to hearings. The office currently maintains an approval rate of 57%, which serves as a benchmark for the local area.
Other judges at this hearing office
The Social Security Administration utilizes a workload-balancing algorithm to assign cases, meaning the judge you are assigned is essentially random. Across the Oak Brook Hearing Office, lifetime approval rates among the bench range from 34% to 83%. Because of this variance, it is important to focus on the strength of your medical evidence regardless of which judge is assigned to your hearing.
Your odds change dramatically with a lawyer
SSDI hearing approval rates — represented vs. on your own
Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-18-37. The 3× gap is a population-wide average across all judges; individual outcomes vary.